Posted on: Friday, September 26, 2003
Pilots protest past-due pension fund payment
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
Fourteen Hawaiian Airlines pilots took their unhappiness over a missed $4.25 million pension fund payment to the streets yesterday, carrying signs that read: "No Pension? No Pilots!"
"We fly their jet aircraft safely for millions of passengers," said Boeing 767 Capt. David Wolz, 49, who will be forced by federal regulations to retire at age 60. "We're holding up our end. The company's not living up to their end."
The pilots walked an informational picket line on Bishop Street outside a meeting of Hawaiian Airlines creditors, passing out fliers that outlined their concerns.
The issue surrounds a mandatory pension fund payment that was due Sept. 15. The payment hasn't been made, and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris gave Hawaiian bankruptcy trustee Josh Gotbaum until Oct. 24 to renegotiate an arrangement with the pilots or explain why he can't make the payment.
A spokesman for the pilots union said Hawaiian's pension plan ranks as the most important issue for many pilots and the union has no intention of bargaining over the missed payment.
The pilots were particularly angered that Gotbaum missed the payment days before Hawaiian Airlines' latest financial report showed the company earned $20.3 million in net income for August — the best monthly performance of the year.
"The bill is past due, the cash is there and we want the company to make the payment," said union representative Vance Tilley, a 767 first officer.
The Air Line Pilots Association International represents 300 active Hawaiian pilots and about 120 who have been furloughed but still are affected by the pension plan.
Hawaiian, the state's largest airline, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March.
Later in the day, Gotbaum issued a statement that said:
"Everyone at Hawaiian Airlines is keenly aware of how important the pilots' pension plan is to their security. What everyone must also recognize, however, is that Hawaiian Airlines is bankrupt and cannot afford to continue business as usual."
The Hawaiian pilots who turned out yesterday said it wasn't easy to air their concerns for the first time since Hawaiian filed for bankruptcy protection.
"As pilots we're comfortable in airplanes," Tilley said. "Being out here carrying signs and showing the public we have a problem with our management is very difficult for us."
Among those on the line was Capt. Grant Stoddard who reaches the mandatory retirement age in three years.
"If I have no retirement, I'll be destitute," Stoddard said. "I'll be honest. I will have no money. My career is done at age 60 because it's required. I can't start over somewhere else."
Reach Dan Nakaso at 525-8085 or dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.
